The number of Syrian refugees registered in neighboring countries and North Africa has passed half a million, the U.N.’s refugee body said Tuesday, December 11, adding that many more have not come forward to seek help, Agence France Presse reported. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said it had either registered or was in the process of registering 509,550 Syrians in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and North Africa. “And these numbers are currently climbing by more than 3,000 a day,” UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said. Large numbers of Syrians have also crossed into neighboring countries but have not yet come forward to register for refugee status and assistance, she said. In addition, there are more than 1.5 million Syrians who fled violence in their homes and are displaced in safer areas within the country.